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Monday, January 7, 2013

Spinning the Message

Imagine a society where your device is never far from your
hand. No matter how important you
are or how low, you never go out socially without your technology. The line between work and
personal life is hopelessly blurred. You cannot even take your kids to the park
without pulling out your device and following the most recent thread. Does this sound like our wired society
in 2013?

Well, I am actually describing the world of the average
woman in the Middle Ages. Back
then every woman, regardless of age or rank, was expected to fill their day with
meaningful work. So each woman
would carry their spindle and distaff
(also called a rock) with them to social occasions. Sometimes they would even gather for
this purpose and it was called “a rocking” I guess the modern equivalent of
that would be a “tweet-up.” It was a constant frenzy of thread creation.

But there were times that it was considered appropriate to
put down the spindle and focus on friends, family and spiritual well being. People would “unplug” (Or would that be
unlace?) during the 12 days of Christmas.

I don’t know about you, but I see a pronounced absence of
social media voices during the holidays.
Other than the occasional status update or twitter competition most
folks are MIA from December 25 to January 6th. Perhaps that is exactly the way it
should be. Perhaps the holidays
are time focus on family and friends and spin stories rather than messages in
the media.

But today is January 7, Distaff Day. Today we pick up our devices once more
and we will spin the threads that will make this year. Those threads will form the weft and
warp of healthcare policy.

2013 will be an amazing year in healthcare and patients must
be in the forefront of creating that message. I look forward to following your threads.

My 'Distaff Day' blog opened with inspirational segments on Regina Holliday, Lucien Engelen and ePatient Dave! A Dilbert cartoon on patient engagement prompted the post.Patient harm is compounded when providers do not acknowledge patients and their advocates or only acknowledge 'selected' voices. Conference selection bias of both presenters and attendees can discriminate against patients and limit the ability to provide workable patient safety solutions. Real patient engagement means that patients are true partners and stakeholders with all respect and responsibility. If we are not at patient safety summits as presenters and attendees, we are not engaged! http://fida-advocate.blogspot.com/2013/01/dilbert-cartoon-as-it-relates-to.html

The Walking Gallery Mini Doc

About Me

Regina Holliday is a resident of Grantsville, Maryland. She serves on the board of the local non-profit The Highland Thrift Shop. She is a member of the Grantsville Rotary Club. She is also Asst. Cubmaster of Pack 460 Cub Scouts.

In addition, Regina serves as a parent advisor to the Garrett County School Board Health Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce and The Garrett County Arts Council.

Ms. Holliday is an activist, artist, speaker and author. You might see her at a health conference painting the content she hears from the patient view. She is part the movement known as participatory medicine. She and others in this movement believe that the patient is a partner with their provider and both should work together as a team.

Regina is a mother and a widow; she speaks about the benefits of health information technology and timely data access for patients due to her family loss. In 2009, she painted a series of murals depicting the need for clarity and transparency in medical records. This advocacy mission was inspired by her late husband Frederick Allen Holliday II and his struggle to get appropriate care during 11 weeks of continuous hospitalization at 5 facilities. Her paintings became part of the national debate on health care reform and helped guide public policy.

She also began an advocacy movement called “The Walking Gallery.” The Gallery consists of medical providers and advocates who wear patient story paintings on the backs of business suits. Paint and patients, pills and policy all come together within The Walking Gallery of Healthcare. This "walking wall" of 330+ individuals who wear personal patient narrative paintings on their backs is changing minds and opening hearts. They are attending medical conferences where often there isn’t a patient speaker on the dais or in the audience. They are providing a patient voice, and by doing so, are changing the conversation.

She published a book with the Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA) entitled: "The Walking Wall: 73 Cents to the Walking Gallery."